| Topic: | Plane trees and bees | |
| Posted by: | Ken Munn | |
| Date/Time: | 30/05/18 07:18:00 |
| Been looking for any reference to the value of plane trees to bees. Nothing found. Woodland Trust says "Very little wildlife is associated with London plane, although the seeds may be eaten by grey squirrels." By contrast, discussing the sycamore (a common alternative to the plane) it says "Sycamore is attractive to aphids and therefore a variety of their predators, such as ladybirds, hoverflies and birds. The leaves are eaten by caterpillars of a number of moths, including the sycamore moth, plumed prominent and maple prominent. The flowers provide a good source of pollen and nectar to bees and other insects, and the seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals." So maybe the CHR planes could be replaced by something which would do more to sustain our threatened bee population? |